


Angel Beats

by Alis_Wonderland



Category: Ghost - Mystery Skulls (Music Video), Mystery Skulls (Band)
Genre: Lewis doesn't listen, One Shot, everyone feels guilty, tells of the events in the video, the gang goes back to the mansion, things don't go as hoped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-18
Updated: 2016-04-18
Packaged: 2018-06-02 23:25:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6587431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alis_Wonderland/pseuds/Alis_Wonderland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur, Vivi, and Mystery go back to the mansion after their encounter with an angry Lewis. <br/>Vivi finds out the truth after questioning Mystery and Arthur about the angry purple ghost and wants to make amends, which leads to them going back. <br/>But what will happen if Lewis isn't willing to listen to them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Angel Beats

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this on Deviant Art a long time ago, and decided to post it here too.   
> Be free to leave comments.
> 
> Nothing else to say except, that I'm pumped that the second Mystery Skulls animated video was just posted a few days ago! ^-^

Oh, they just had to have their van stop working right in front of a scary looking mansion. Why couldn’t it have been somewhere else?

Oh, and as if things couldn’t get worse, Vivi thought it was a peachy idea to explore said mansion. The place with the purple glow practically screamed “Beware, I’m haunted!”, but did the bluenette listen….well yeah, but not in a sane way.

Arthur didn’t even know why he went along with his paranormal-loving friend’s suggestions. He was starting to think he and their dog, Mystery, were the only ones in their right mind.

The blond already knew how things would play out. It was always the same, much to his dread. At some point, the gang would split up and he would somehow end up exactly where the supernatural creature was. Arthur would be chased around by the monster for who knows how long, before Vivi would come and save the day.

The situation at the mansion veered in that direction as soon as the gang was separated after falling down that trap door. Strange, where was the logic when Arthur somehow fell faster than his friends? Did the laws of physics not apply to haunted mansions?

Whatever the reason, Arthur ended up in a room with a coffin, while Vivi and Mystery landed in a kitchen. And of course, the ghost appeared where the blond was.

It seemed to hold violent intentions for Arthur, so the blond booked it out of there…fast. Not before seeing purple flames appear on the ghost’s skull. The flames resembled hair, but not just any hairstyle, it was one Arthur recognized well…

“H-Holy s-shit!!! L-Lewis?!?!?” The blond hyperventilated as he dashed out of the room, the enraged ghost on his trail.

Arthur would have tried to apologized, would have tried to explain, but well you know…fear. As much as he thought he deserved to die, his body had a different agenda…self-preservation.

He ran into Vivi and Mystery, but didn’t have a chance to explain as Ghost Lewis chased after them.

With a spot of bad luck, which was common for the blond, Arthur found himself cornered.

“Well, maybe this is the way things should have gone,” he thought as he braced for an attack.

The ghost was about to ram into his ex-best friend with full force, when Vivi leaped in between them.

Lewis stopped in his tracks. He could only stare as he saw the love of his life protect his murderer.

**“Vivi, don’t protect him! You don’t understand, he killed me! He’s a murderer!”** Lewis thought. **“Touch my heart, then you’ll remember…you’ll understand the truth.”**

He allowed his golden heart to float its way to Vivi, who was curiously drawn to the glowing object. Before she could touch it though, Arthur broke out his daze, grabbed Vivi by the hand, and took off running.

**“Arthur!!!”**

Lewis was enraged, how dare Arthur not only kill him, but also try to steal Vivi away. He let out an explosion of purple fire, but in vain, Arthur and his friends were already in their van. Somehow, they were able to start the vehicle.

The ghost could only watch with sadness as the gang drove away from his mansion.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What the hell just happened Arthur?!” The bluenette yelled. She didn’t like that she was dragged out of that beautiful mansion. It was getting really exciting, too.

“V-Viv, y-you don’t understand!”

“Then tell me so I can understand!” Vivi shouted.

_“It’s not that simple, Vivian_.” Mystery interrupted.

There was a few seconds of silence after the dog spoke. The gang knew Mystery could speak, but were still surprised when he did.

“Not you too, Mystery! Honestly guys, you’re steaming my broccoli! Just spill the beans! Why did we leave? And why did that ghost want to hurt Arthur?”

Mystery sighed. _“Stop the van. It’s best to tell her, Arthur. You know once Vivi gets something in her head, she won’t let go…Besides maybe it is high time we come clean.”_

“I-If you s-say so b-buddy.” Arthur whimpered as he pulled over to the side of the road.

Vivi waited patiently for one of her friends to start explaining. She knew she had them in the palm of her hand.

“T-That was L-Lewis back t-there.” Arthur began.

“Who?”

Arthur grew quiet so Mystery continued for him.

_“You won’t remember because you lost all memories of him, but Lewis was a member of our group. He was your boyfriend, Vivian…He was there that night in the cave…Sadly, he died that night.”_

“A-And it w-was all m-my f-fault!” Arthur sobbed, tugging at his hair in frustration. “I k-killed him. I-I k-killed my b-best f-friend! It s-should h-have b-been me, n-not him!”

_“No it wasn’t your fault, Arthur! You were possessed! I should have noticed sooner, then Lewis would still be alive and you…you would still have your arm.”_ Mystery put in.

Vivi watched as both her friends slumped down in their seats and looked out the windows. Neither one wanted to talk anymore.

They sat there in silence for what seemed like hours before Vivi was able to make the other two talk again. Though it was mainly Mystery who explained, Arthur just sat there crying and hugging his knees. He just kept whispering “I’m sorry” over and over.

Eventually, all the events were retold and Arthur expected Vivi to hate him and never want to see him again, but she gave him a hug, much to the blonde’s surprise.

“Oh, poor Arthur. I’m sorry I made you relive those horrible memories.” She cried. “…But poor Lewis, he must have felt lonely all this time in that mansion…We have to go back.”

“A-Are you c-crazy Vivi?!” Arthur whimpered.

_“Vivian, Lewis is not himself anymore. He tried to kill Arthur. He almost hurt you. Something terrible could happen if we go back.”_ Mystery said.

The bluenette wasn’t the one to give up easy.

“He won’t! We’ll explain and he’ll understand…Arthur, Lewis will understand…I promise. Please take us back to that mansion.”

Neither Arthur nor Mystery could say no to Vivi, as much as they wanted to.

“This is going to be the death of me.” Arthur thought as he drove.

Oh, how right he was.

 

 

Upon entering the mansion for the second time that night, the gang noted that the purple glow was dimmer now.

There was no sign of Lewis. Arthur shook like a leaf anyway.

“Lewis! Please come out, we need to talk! I know you’re mad at Arthur, but things aren’t what you think.” Vivi shouted into the dark halls.

Nothing happened.

**“Why would I listen to a murderer like him?”** A voice bellowed, the mansion started glowing brighter.

A second later, Lewis’s ghostly figure appeared next to Arthur and grabbed the blond by the neck.

“L-Lew p-please let m-me e-explain!” Arthur managed to say.

**“No! I will hear nothing from you!”**

“Lewis please!” Vivi begged as she ran towards them, Mystery on her heels.

Arthur gave them a sad smile. “It’s o-okay, I d-deserve t-this a-anyway. It s-should have b-been me w-who d-died.”

_“No!”_

Mystery transformed into his larger form and dashed to save Arthur.

…But it was too late.

Snap!

Arthur’s head drooped as his neck snapped.

Lewis dropped his body on the ground as if it were trash. As the corpse hit the floor with a thud, Arthur’s dying expression could be seen. It was a sad smile, a single tear spilling from his unblinking eyes.

Vivi gave a horrified scream as she stared at her friend’s dead eyes. Mystery gave a heartbreaking howl.

**“Why do you feel bad for him? He killed me! He separated us!”** Lewis questioned. **“Now that he’s gone we can be together again!”**

Two sets of eyes glared at him. One set blue and the other red. If looks could kill…well, you get the drift…

“You’re the murderer!” Vivi bellowed as she ran to attack Lewis, her moves having no physical effect on the ghost. “You killed him without giving him a chance to explain!”

She fell to the ground weeping, and held Arthur’s corpse in her arms. “You should have just let him explain…If he had explained…”

Vivi was gone now, shut in her own little world, hoping to wake up from this nightmare.

Lewis tried to get close, but was tackled by the giant wolf creature that was Mystery.

_“Stay the fuck away from her!”_ He growled, tears in his eyes. His claws cut deep into Lewis, surprisingly leaving wounds on the ghost. _“Can’t you see you’ve done enough, murderer! I should kill you this instant!”_

Lewis winced at the pain, but was in too much confusion to really care. He didn’t understand…any of this.

The huge wolf-fox looked over to Arthur’s corpse and whimpered. His ears folded and some of his six tails tucked between his legs.

Mystery trudged towards Vivi and the body with his head down, and lay down around them. His large form completely covering them from view.

Lewis was torn between emotions. He was confused. Why did his friends care so much for that monster, Arthur?

**“What could he have possibly said that would have made me forgive him?”** The ghost said, more to himself than to the other two.

To his surprise, Mystery answered him, though in a spiteful tone.

_“Arthur was possessed that night…He had lost control of his left arm….It wasn’t his fault, Lewis. He felt horrible when he saw what his arm had done. Arthur nearly killed himself several times out of guilt…He was getting better, but then YOU came.”_

The ghost broke down, all the happiness he had felt when he got his revenge was gone now. What Mystery just said, couldn’t be true, could it? Lewis started retracing everything he knew.

There had been something wrong with Arthur that night at the cave. He had had this greenish glow to him. The Arthur he had known most of his life, would never hurt anything, let alone anyone. The blond was too kind, that’s why Lewis was shocked when Arthur pushed him down that cliff. Lewis should have known something was wrong.

There had been many clues Lewis should have seen. He had noticed Arthur had a robotic arm now, but he didn’t really care about it. He had just hoped the blond had suffered greatly.

Another clue the ghost should have noticed, was Arthur’s behavior tonight. Even though, the blond had tried to explain, he didn’t put up much of a fight. He just stood there shaking, but accepting his fate.

The memory that really caused Lewis to drown in guilt was the one where he was about to break Arthur’s neck. The blond knew Lewis’s intentions, but had not tried to struggle and escape. He just relaxed his body and told his friends it was okay with a smile. Lewis was too enraged to really notice, but Arthur had been saying his goodbyes.

The ghost fell to his knees in terror.

**“Oh God. What have I done?! How did I not notice all the clues? Arthur would never intentionally hurt anyone! Why didn’t I notice?...I just killed my best friend!”**

Black tears oozed from his eye sockets and the flames all around him seemed to be fading. Even his golden heart was fading, to grey.

Everything in the mansion was coming apart. The very roof of the place was falling to pieces around them. A few moments more, and the whole place would come crashing down.

_“Lewis stop, you’re causing the building to collapse!”_ Mystery growled, but the ghost couldn’t listen for he was drowning in guilt.

Realizing there was no getting through to the ghost, Mystery grabbed Vivi and Arthur’s body with his tails, and ran out of manor. The second he did, there was nothing but debris behind them.

Mystery placed his load down and watched a faintly glowing Lewis rise from the wreckage.

_“Nice going murderer, you almost caused a mass murder!”_ The fox demon growled, before turning to Vivi and saying a calm tone, _“Vivian, we must go. I am mourning just as much as you, but we must go. I’m afraid we need to tell Arthur’s uncle the bad news and Arthur needs a proper burial.”_

The large creature gently nudged the bluenette on the head.

“No, Mystery! We have to wait until Arthur comes back!”

Mystery gave a whimper. He didn’t want to tell Vivi there was hardly a chance Arthur would return as a ghost.

_“Vivi, Arthur is not coming back.”_

“But HE did!” Vivi yelled, pointing and glaring at Lewis, who floated above the remains of his house not knowing what to do with himself. He wanted to comfort Vivi, but he knew he was a monster in her eyes…in his own as well.

_“Vivi, the only reason that MONSTER over there came back was because of his strong urge to get revenge, and possibly the love he feels for you…”_ Mystery said with a growl, then soften his tone for what he said next. _“Arthur, on the other hand, had no reason to stay. He was too broken. Even in life, he was fading away…I’m sorry Vivian, but Arthur’s soul is no longer here. It has moved on to whatever lies after life. I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure he is okay.”_

Mystery didn’t really believe there was anything after death…besides the occasional ghosts, but if it comforted Vivi, he would try to believe it as well.

 

After they had called 911 and made up a believable story as much as it hurt to lie, Vivi and a now small Mystery sat there waiting for the police and ambulance to arrive.

Lewis made sure to stay invisible and keep his distance. He knew he was a monster and nothing more.

Any thought of him wanting to go near Vivi and apologize a billion times was erased when Vivi turned to where she thought he was, venom in her eyes, and said, “Don’t you dare to follow us home and just leave us alone! And I’m glad I forgot all about a horrible person like you!”

That was the only thing that was said to him before the 911 respondents arrived and took the gang back to town. It hurt Lewis to see Vivi and Mystery be given a ride in a cop car, but it hurt him more to see the respondents cover Arthur’s corpse and put him in the ambulance.

He cried in silence as he watched them all go away, his form fading a little.

**“This time I might just disappear.”**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time had passed, but he didn’t know how much. It seemed like an eternity, but for all he knew it could have only been a couple months.

Every day was the same, Lewis would just float where his mansion once stood. He never tried to rebuild it, what for? He was not trying to lure anyone there anymore. Since the night he had killed his best friend, he had been trying to fade away…to become nothing, but something wouldn’t let him.

Perhaps it was part of his punishment for his actions. Maybe higher powers were keeping him here for eternity so he could suffer. Lewis hated it, but he knew he deserved it.

Without having a way to move on, the ghost was aimless and resorted to doing nothing. He knew his hometown was only a few miles away, but he wouldn’t allow himself that small pleasure of seeing his loved ones.

Sometimes he almost convinced himself to go, but then he thought of Arthur and would change his mind.

This was his hell on earth.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been seven months since Arthur died and Vivi still couldn’t really move on. Mystery was the same, though the dog kept his feelings bottled up while the bluenette released them almost daily.

They had given up paranormal investigating and invested all their time selling books at Tome Tomb. It was their way of continuing their lives, though it wasn’t really living.

There were other things that also prevented them from recovering even just a little.

Ever since the tragedy, they had been constantly followed by demons. They came in different shapes and sizes, but they all had the same intentions. The fiends wanted the duo’s heartbroken souls, though mainly Vivi’s for they preferred human souls.

Luckily so far all the demons had been weak enough for Mystery to dispatch, but the replacements kept getting stronger. The gap between strength was getting smaller very quickly. Mystery didn’t know how much more they could take.

The answer was, not much more.

At one point, the powerful fox demon had finally met his match. The demon that had appeared this time, was one that hid himself from view, and from Mystery’s heightened senses.

This was a special type of demon. A suicide demon.

Its specialty was to whisper dark thoughts until its victims died by their own hands. These demons were very good at their job, it took days before Mystery or Vivi realized one was playing with their heads. The duo had thought it was just their guilty conscience eating away at them.

Once the suicide demon knew he had been discovered and was nearly exorcised, he made himself visible and grew violent.

The demon revealed himself to be one that looked human, a young man to be precise. There were only a few things that gave it away, like the completely black eyes or its sharp fangs.

Knowing he didn’t have much of a chance to defeat it, Mystery put Vivi on his back and took off running. The large wolf-fox planned to take Vivi to a sacred place where demons, including himself, couldn’t enter, but it was some distance away.

They were only able to make to the edge of the woods, before Mystery let out an ear-piercing howl in pain.

_“Aaaaaawwwwhhhooooogggrrrrrr!!!”_

A second later, he toppled over, Vivi falling off his back. There were deep slashes in his thigh and leg. Mystery wouldn’t be able to heal fast enough to continue running.

The demon was walking towards them with a smug smile on his face.

“I don’t usually do any physical damage to my victims, but for you I’ll make an exception. Hehe…Well now that you have finally stopped running around, why don’t we have a conversation like civilized people? Hehe.”

Vivi and Mystery could only huddle against each other as they braced for whatever was about to come.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lewis was doing the usual…nothing.

He was just floating around and sulking when he suddenly heard a loud howl. It didn’t seem to be that far from where Lewis was.

**“That didn’t sound like any animal I have ever heard…well except maybe for Mystery’s howl the night…Arthur died.”** The ghost shuddered at the memory. **“There’s no way it could be Mystery, could it? No, they would far away from a monster like me.”**

Lewis went back to his routine, but then looked back at the direction of the howl. **“But what if it is him? What if he’s in danger?...That would mean Vivi is in danger!”**

Fear appeared in the ghost’s expression. Lewis didn’t want butt into his friends’ lives after the monstrosity he had committed, but he had to check on them. He just had to make sure Vivi and Mystery were safe, though.

Making up his mind, Lewis sped to find the source of the howl.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_“Stay away from us, demon!”_ Mystery growled as he covered Vivi with his six tails.

“Ha-ha. Aren’t you being a hypocrite? After all you are a demon yourself, I would’ve thought that fact would have let us see eye to eye.” The suicide demon chuckled as horns grew from under his black hair.

His nails stretched out into black claws, which were covered in Mystery’s blood.

“Mmm. Your blood tastes delicious by the way.” The demon commented, licking the red substance off his claws. “But your soul smells even better. Let me have a taste. Hehe.”

Before he could get closer to his prey, the demon was blasted by a burst of purple flames.

**“Don’t you dare get anywhere near them!”** A voice bellowed.

Mystery and Vivi turned to their savior with shock in their eyes.

“Lewis?!” They shouted in unison.

Before the ghost could say something, the suicide demon tackled him down and tossed him where the other two were.

“Ha-ha. You might have arrived in the nick of time, but this only bought these two a couple of seconds more. Mystery was no match for me, so what makes you think you stand a chance against moi, Lewis?”

**“How do you-“**

“Know your name? Ha-ha. I know lots of things, ghost. Especially about which souls are ripe for picking.” The demon chuckled, looking over to Mystery and Vivi then back to Lewis. “You were also on my hunting list so, thank you for making this easier being coming here. But don’t look so glum, I’m doing you guys a favor. I will reunite you with that friend of yours…you know, the one you killed, Lewis. Hehe. Wouldn’t you like to see him again?”

Mystery struggled as he got back on his legs.

_“Shut your mouth demon! You tell lies!”_

“Oh, Mystery. Don’t you want to see your friend, so you can apologize for not being able to save him?...And you, Vivi, don’t you want to tell your friend sorry for forcing him to go to the place he died in? Hehe.”

The demon grinned as he glanced at all three of his victims suffering under the power of his words. He loved his job.

“This is like Christmas to a demon. Hehe. Which present should I open first?”

Black eyes shining with glee, he walked towards the gang, his claws clacking against each other.

Clack!

Only a few feet away.

Clack!

The gang could smell his rotten breath now.

Clack!

They knew there was nothing they do, but brace themselves. Brace themselves for having their souls devoured.

Suddenly there was a flash of blinding white light.

It took all of them a couple of seconds to adjust their eyes, but when they did, they saw a line of whitish yellow flames separating the gang from the demon.

 

“Sorry demon dude, but you’ve been a very bad boy this year. No presents for you.” A cheerful male’s voice said.

Vivi turned in the direction of the voice, but couldn’t see the person very well because of all the brightness around him. It was the same for Mystery and Lewis. Even the demon was squinting to get a better look at this intruder.

All they were able to see was a humanoid silhouette with spiky hair and other spikey things seeming to come from the body. Its left arm seemed to be made of yellow flames. Whatever it was, it was looking down at them from its perch on a tree.

The sound of rustling feathers could be heard as the silhouette moved. The “spikes” on his body stretched out and soon their real identity was revealed.

They were wings. Very large wings.

“Angel!” growled the demon, black eyes glaring and fangs bared.

Mystery, Vivi, and Lewis just stared in awe. They didn’t even know angels existed.

“That’s right, demon. A guardian angel to be precise.” The silhouette said from his perch. “Now, if you would be so kind as to leave, that would be nice.”

“Ha, like that would ever happen.” The demon hissed, throwing black fireballs at the angel.

The angel easily deflected them and threw his own fireballs in return.

The demon was not as good at deflecting. “Damn it, why do you even fight me, angel? We are more alike than you’d like to believe. Everyone knows that being a guardian angel is the equivalent of serving jail time. You’re not a pure angel. You must have something that tainted your soul. Why don’t you join me, then all those pesky pure angels won’t bother you anymore.”

“Ha-ha, nice try demon, but no thanks. I may be tainted, but that can be fixed. So I will tell you again, leave. These guys are my business now.”

To prove his point, the angel threw another yellow fireball at the demon and dropped from his perch.

The demon, fearing a face to face confrontation, fled. Though he was a strong demon, he knew guardian angels were granted more power in case they encountered his kind.

“Don’t get cocky angel. You might not have to worry about me, but there’s way stronger demons than me out there. Hehe.”

With that the demon vanished in a cloud of black smoke.

 

“Ha-ha, well that went better than I expected.” The angel chuckled, making his way to the gang.

Just moments ago, they had thought they were goners, but then this angel arrived and saved them. Now they were just shocked and confused.

Angels are real?! And one of them was assigned to protect them?

Why? They were the most damaged creatures on the face of the earth! They were the worst friends ever! It was their fault their best friend died!

Mystery, Vivi, and Lewis pondered this as the angel walked to them. They still couldn’t get a good view at the guy and had to squint as he got closer. Damn, the guy was like a walking sun.

As if realizing this, the angel put out the overwhelming light surrounding him.

“Ha, sorry about that.” He said with a sheepish smile. “You would think I’d know better, but what can I say, I’m a dork. Ha-ha.”

The gang became stiff.

They couldn’t believe their eyes.

Maybe they had died after all. (Again in Lewis’s case)

“Hi peeps, allow me to introduce myself.” The angel said cheerfully. “Drum roll please. I’m your guardian angel, Arth-“

He didn’t get to finish because Vivi tackled him with a hug. Not paying attention to the fact that one of the man’s arms was made of yellow fire. Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt.

“Arthur!!!” She yelled, tears in her eyes.

She only let go of the blond to make sure he was really there and not part of her imagination.

As soon as she did, Lewis pulled the shorter man into a bear hug.

**“I’m so sorry, Arthur! I should have known it wasn’t your fault!”**

He had totally forgotten to think about how the blond would react.

With a shove, that’s how.

It was gentle, but to Lewis it was like being pushed off the cliff again. Not physically, but emotionally.

He realized that he hadn’t taken the blood’s feelings into account, he had acted selfishly. He hadn’t stop to think that Arthur would hate him for killing him, for all Lewis knew, the shorter man was afraid of him.

The thought caused Lewis to step back and start fading away.

“Ha-ha. No need to get butt hurt, ghost dude. Now guys, I know it’s hard to resist all of this,” Arthur gestured to himself with a smug grin, “but you gotta buy me dinner first. Ha-ha.”

Lewis was confused. Shouldn’t Arthur be angry at him? Hating him? Fearing him? Something?

The blond before him was just causally talking to him as if nothing happened.

What gives?

Mystery and Vivi were puzzled as well.

“Arthur?”

“That’s ma name, Miss…Miss…” Arthur started to say, but then stopped, deep in thought. “Hold on a sec.”

The instant he said that, Arthur snapped his fingers and a bunch of note cards appeared in his right hand. He was about to hold them with both hands, before realizing his left hand would burn the paper.

“Sometimes I surprise myself with how much of an idiot I can be. Ha-ha.” He chuckled.

Arthur nonchalantly shook his left arm a little and the gang watched in amazement as the yellow flames died out, and a normal looking arm took the place of the other one.

Vivi grabbed the arm instantly and started examining it quickly, before pulled Arthur pulled away from the bluenette. A little weirded out.

Especially since Mystery started circling him, sniffing him here and there.

“You-You have your arm back, Arthur!?!?!” Vivi shouted.

“Um, yeah Miss…” The blond squinted at one of his index cards. “Miss…Vivian.”

He started shuffling through his cards, before abruptly stopping, a look of confusion on his face.

“Wait what do you mean by ‘have your arm back’…Oh my gosh! Did you know me?! Did I lose my arm when I was alive?!” Arthur chatted away excitedly.

There was no trace of fear or worry on his face. Not even his usual stuttering.

Only excitement and curiosity.

“How did it happen? Let me guess a shark!…no I don’t seem like the surfing type…A lion!...wait why would I even be near a lion…Oh, I know! This cute big doggy did it!” Arthur jabbered away, pointing at Mystery.

The large fox creature winced at the mention of his deed.

“Nah, probably not, I could have just lost the dang thing in a boring car accident or something.” Arthur sighed. “I don’t think I was much of the adventurous type.”

The gang was concerned now. They even put their guilt and the whole Arthur-Killed-Lewis-Who-Then-Killed-Arthur dilemma aside.

They needed to know what exactly was wrong with their friend.

**“Ar-Arthur d-don’t you r-remember us? D-Don’t you r-remember me?”** Lewis asked, afraid of what he hear as a response.

The blond just blankly stared at him. “Ah, no…Should I?”

The gang’s hearts sank a little.

Arthur noticed their gloom, and became slightly depressed too.

“Look dudes…and dudette, I don’t know what to tell ya. I simply don’t remember. I don’t remember you, anyone, or anything from my life. I don’t remember my life, period.”

_“What happened to you, Arthur?”_ Mystery asked, finally getting involved with the conversation.

The fox demon had been wondering if this person in front of them was really Arthur. This version just seemed too happy. As much as Mystery liked to see his friends happy, he knew that Arthur had always been the one to hold on to the bad and not pay attention to the good. This was why, he didn’t know whether this was really his friend or not.

Mystery couldn’t tell. The blond looked like Arthur. Smelled like Arthur. But he didn’t act like it.

“Ha-ha. Well besides that I’m dead? Um, let’s see, um…” Angel Arthur glanced at his cards. “Mystery…Mystery? What kind of name is that for a demon?...Humph whatever, I won’t judge…Anyways, I died, went to heaven, and probably would be there right now if it weren’t for my little dilemma.”

_“What dilemma?”_ Mystery pressured.

The angel sheepishly ruffled his hair with his hand. “Well you see, I’m tainted…and what that means is that when I was alive I committed a certain amount of sins that left me on the borderline of entering heaven. It could have been a ton of little sins everyone does, or one or two bigger ones…Every human arrives in heaven a bit tainted…I mean we were only human…but my taint’s percentage was a tad higher than the usual.”

Mystery, Vivi, and Lewis winced, knowing exactly what the cause was for Arthur’s tainted soul.

The angel mistook their look for something else, and quickly added, “Ha-ha. Don’t worry though, I won’t try to kill you or anything. I’m not that tainted. Plus they would strip me of my wings for sure. Ha-ha.”

It surprised the gang how fast Arthur quickly ditched his saddened expression and went back to that new cheery disposition of his.

“Anyways, Boss said I could get rid of my taint if I worked for who knows how long as a guardian angel. Everyone’s different, some get done in a century, others a few years. I’ve barely been dead for almost a year, and I believe I’m almost done. Boss says you guys are my last case, though he sure didn’t make this easy. No offense, but you guys are such a mess. It might take forever to straighten you guys out, if ever.”

He looked over his cards, pointing out certain things about the gang. “Jeez, you guys have so many issues, you should be a marvel comic. Ha-ha. Sorry for the pun, couldn’t help myself.”

“I still don’t really understand, but why can’t you remember anything from when you were alive.” Vivi inquired.

Arthur frowned. “My memories were taken as soon as I arrived in heaven. It is a usual process for guardian angels. Boss says that memories can affect us negatively while working. They could cause us screw up our second chance. It’s best to sometimes stay ignorant of the past…Though sometimes I seem to catch glimpse of somethings. It weirds me out.”

_“Will you ever get your memories back?”_ Mystery asked worriedly.

“Yeah. Boss said that when I complete my last task, a.k.a. you guys, I can choose to have them returned out not.”

_“Who’s your boss? Is it God?”_ Mystery had heard rumors that God was real, but given that he wasn’t even sure angels existed, he never gave it much thought. Even if angels existed, the large beast was technically a demon, so heavenly creatures would never go near him anyway. Now, he considered himself lucky for never encountering an angel at all in his life…Speaking of which, _“Also if you’re an angel, why haven’t you tried to kill me yet? I am a creature of dark origins, you know.”_

Arthur shrugged. “As crazy as it sounds, you are my charge. All three of you are…Ha-ha. How did I end up in this weird situation, in charge of not only a ghost, but also a demon? This is like a bad sitcom.”

He then took a slightly more serious tone. “The strangeness doesn’t matter though. You may be a demon, and that guy is a vengeful spirit according to my notes, but both of you deserve a chance to redeem yourselves.”

Lewis became overwhelmed with guilt. **“I don’t deserve another chance! Not after what I did to you, Arthur!”**

“Huh?”

**“I’m so sorry! It wasn’t your fault! I shouldn’t have blamed you! I shouldn’t have k-”** Lewis started to sob, before being abruptly shut by yellow flames wrapping around where his mouth would be if he weren’t a ghost.

The ghostly skeleton was stunned. He looked over to Arthur and was given a sympathetic smile, before being released from the yellow fire.

“I’m not sure what happened between us, ghost dude, but please don’t bring it up. It obviously affected you guys badly, and I don’t want your condition to get worse.” The angel glanced sadly at all three of his charges. “Guys, let me say this right now so it doesn’t cause problems later…No matter how much one of you wants to tell me about a memory with me, you can’t. Absolutely not. If you do, there’s a 99% chance I’ll be forced to leave and get another case.”

“You’d be forced to leave?” Vivi asked.

“Yeah. My boss…who is the archangel Michael btw, sorry I never answered Mystery’s question earlier. He’s the one in charge of peeps like me, and likes to strictly follow the rules…at least try to. Ha-ha. He wasn’t too thrilled when God said he would a demon, a.k.a. Mystery, a shot at redemption…Shit, I’m going way off topic. Anyways, my boss, Michael, warned me not to try to learn about my life for it goes against the rules.

“So we can’t reminisce?” Vivi complained. “But you just came back from the dead…sort of. Reminiscing should be one of the first things to do!”

“We can always make new memories, Miss Vivian.”

“Please call me Vivi. It feels so weird hearing you call me by my full name.”

“Ha-ha. Ok, Vivi.” The angel replied, finding the way the nickname rolled off his tongue familiar. “You can call me whatever it was you used to call me. Try to be reasonable on how ridiculous it sounds though. Ha-ha.”

“Artie, I’m sorry for how things were when you were alive.” The bluenette whispered.

_“As am I. I should have done more for you.”_ Mystery whimpered.

“Guys, it’s ok. Let’s just leave the past behind us.”

**“But-”**

Everyone turned towards Lewis. Vivi and Mystery glared at him.

“Ghost dude, cool your shit.” The blond said with a smile, his glowing yellow eyes looking directly at Lewis’s purple ones. “Whatever you did, don’t worry about it. I forgive you.”

**“But you have no clue to the extent of what I did**!” Lewis sobbed as his figure started to fade.

“Arthur, I agree with this monster on this one.” Vivi hissed.

_“As do I.”_ Mystery growled. _“You shouldn’t forgive him. He doesn’t deserve it.”_

“Ghost dude, are you trying to purposely get rid of me?” Arthur teased, completely ignoring the other two’s comments. He quickly caught the depressed Lewis by surprise, and pulled him into a hug. “Sorry, but you’re fucking stuck with me until I complete the task I was given. Ha-ha. And judging by the looks of things, I’ll be here for a long ass time.”

The angel extended his golden wings and wrapped them around the whole gang, pulling them into the hug as well.

“Please just fucking make up. I won’t expect it to happen right off the bat, but I would like not be caught in the middle of a battlefield. Please, do it for me.”

_“I don’t know if we can, Arthur.”_ Mystery countered, only to receive a glare from the angel. The fox demon sighed. _“But we’ll try, right Vivi?”_

“Right,” The bluenette grumbled. “It’s not like he’s giving us a choice.”

Vivi now knew how the blond had felt when she always dragged him into ghost hunts.

“Thanks guys, it means a lot that you’ll try. Fact is shit happens. The only thing to do is get over it.”

Lewis managed a small smile, but felt guilty for doing so. **“I thought angels didn’t cuss.”**

“Ha-ha. I’m tainted, I can get away with it.” The angel answered jokingly. “So get used to this, bitches.”

This version of Arthur was weird, but for now all that mattered was that he was at least back with them. None of them knew how they would be able to work things out…if that was even possible, but they would deal with things as time passed. Maybe things between the gang would heal at some point, maybe they wouldn’t, only time could tell.

 

“Hey Arthur, by the way, what’s it like being an angel?”

“Awesome!” Arthur replied excitedly. “I can do all sorts of things. I can fly which is hella cool. Dude, I can fucking shoot fire! How awesome is that!...But you know what I think is the best part?”

Arthur didn’t really give a chance for anyone to answer as he plucked three of the feathers from his wings and held them before his charges.

The gang just stared at him blankly.

To their amazement, the feathers instantly started glowing and transformed into three orbs of golden light. The orbs stretched into cute little ghost like creatures, which resembled a lot like Lewis’s deadbeats. Except these little guys had Arthur’s hairdo and seemed to have small wings.

“I call these little dudes Angel Beats,” The blond said proudly. “And let me tell ya, they can do one hella acapella.”

The angel blabbered on as they walked towards the horizon. Walking towards the unknown future ahead of them.


End file.
